a bleeding purple utah jazz blog

Bit from Karl Malone’s “Through My Eyes” — 6/6

Karl: Well, it was, but let me just say this. Maybe you had one guy, ok, let me just throw him out there. Bill Laimbeer was worse than Vlade Divac, flopping. And newsflash: He don’t like me, and I don’t really give a rat–I don’t like him…

I didn’t like him, and he flopped so that was like insult to injury. But Vlade Divac, to me, he didn’t have to flop. He was, and is, a hell of a talent. But Bill Laimbeer, he just look like he woke up and ate a bowl of dog crap everyday and he was just pissed off and “Imma flop.” Now, he’ll hit that 15-foot jumper now, I give him credit. But I would say Bill Laimbeer was worse than Vlade Divac flopping.

But now, everybody flop. You take a guy that’s 6’10” and a little guy that’s 5’10”, 120 [lbs.], [the 6’10” guy] flop and fall. But here’s the thing about it. Let’s not just jump on the athlete for flopping. Who control the game? The referee.

But now let me tell you something. When Commissioner Stern, which he really don’t say a whole lot, but when he say that flopping is a issue, two things. Number one, it’s a problem. And number two, it’s gonna get corrected. That’s what Imma say. Don’t get me wrong. Commissioner Stern and I have had our little battles. I still respect him, think the world of him as a commissioner. And let me tell you something: I can bet this. He will get that corrected. And it is a problem, and I think it take a lot from the game, and it’s a great game.